Cinema as Art w/Ben Balcom

In this final episode of the season, the team speaks with Ben Balcom, a local filmmaker, assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, and the co-founder and co-programmer of Microlights Cinema. The show kicks off with Lindsay, David, and Elisabeth reflecting on formative artistic influences that allowed them to see new possibilities within the mediums of film, music, and dance. Ben joins the crew around 10:30.

Since 2013, Ben has been presenting experimental films in Milwaukee through Microlights Cinema, and has recently started hosting screenings again after pausing during the pandemic. In the conversation, Ben reflects on early pivotal exposures to experimental film, including a Stan Brackidge work. The material made him understand for the first time that as a filmmaker, a film could mean “what you insist it means,” and a metaphorical light went on for him.

As a musician in his early life, Ben found a creative home in filmmaking upon realizing that many of his interests could be simultaneously served and explored through making films—where art, music, literature, and performance all come together. He discusses how creative practices, including filmmaking, might be impeded by approaching with a sense of expertise rather than an openness to explore, and willingness to “make material work.” As an instructor, he presses his students to consider working with mistakes and asks them what would it mean to make “failed” material work?

Throughout the conversation, Ben shares his thoughts about Milwaukee as a destination for the whole spectrum of filmmaking—from commercial to experimental. He laments a scarcity of funding opportunities for artists in the city, and the need for artists to commodify their practices as a means of survival. He sees the future of film production in Milwaukee flowing from the artists themselves. Rather than aiming for flashy outside production partners like Netflix, Ben feels that artists should have the freedom to pursue their projects authentically—and that if they are better supported to realize their visions independently, their work has the potential to generate powerful interest from the ground up.

Follow Microlights on Instagram at microlights_cinema